Bill Nye (b. 1955) moved to Seattle in 1977 to work as an engineer, first at Boeing and later for Sundstrand Data Control in Redmond. Sundstrand built parts for the aircraft industry, as well as other kinds of industrial gear drives, pumps, and compressors. While working for Sundstrand, Nye was also exploring stand-up comedy and had some guest appearances on the Seattle comedy show Almost Live! In 1986 he decided to take a leap and quit his full-time engineering job at Sundstrand and pursue comedy more actively. It was on Almost Live! that he built the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” persona, doing wildly popular comedic science demonstrations alongside show hosts Ross Shafer and later John Keister. In 1992, Nye partnered with producers James McKenna (who had been a writer for Almost Live!) and Erren Gottlieb to pitch the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” to various TV stations.